How to free up time at the office

Who couldn’t do with a few more hours in the day? Well, you don’t have to halt the sun’s trajectory to do that. Here are a few tips to loosen and free up the time that is tangled up unproductively.

Plan your day

Spend the first 20 or 30 minutes of your day planning the rest of the day (or the last 20 or 30 minutes of the day planning the next day). While it could seem incongruous to take time out of your day in order to gain time, you would be amazed how much time you save by plotting out your day beforehand.

Recognise “busy work”

Busy work is fluff work (checking emails, organising your files, etc.) that makes you feel like you are doing something productive when in reality you are just trying to make yourself look and feel busy to avoid doing the real work. It can be easy to slip into this so try notice it for what it is and get back to doing something more important.

Remove distractions

Ten minutes of distraction here and there really add up to a lot of wasted time at the end of the day. Social media is a big culprit here. Scientists are now even saying that social media can actually engender an “ADHD-type mind”. Messaging applications like email can also be distracting, as well as those cat videos your colleagues and friends like to share around.

This doesn’t mean you can never take a five minute break, but rather than being at the whim of distractions, limit and structure those breaks. For example, rather than open each message as soon as it comes, first finish the task at hand, or allocate certain times of the day for looking at and responding to messages.

Do one thing at a time

More and more studies are showing that multi-taking is the enemy of productivity. By diluting your attention over different tasks you are in effect using up more time than if you just devote your undivided attention to getting one thing done properly at a time.

Streamline your admin

There is a lot of admin involved in running a business or any job for that matter. There are many online tools you can use to minimise the red tape and hassle. A few examples: debit order systems streamline your invoices and payments, an application like Shoeboxed automates your data entry, and another application called Wasp Barcode manages your inventory for you. Every business has different admin needs and with a little digging you could find something to reduce the bother in your day.

Delegate, say no, and don’t micromanage

You don’t need to do everything yourself.

Some people struggle to delegate work and end up doing more than they should. Some don’t know how to say no to more work. Others feel the need to micromanage. If you are prey to any of these issues then you are not using your time as efficiently as you can. Let others help you with the load, know that it’s okay to say no and don’t micromanage.

This article was brought to you by Digicash. We provide debit order systems to help streamline your invoicing and payments so you can focus on the work that really matters.